There are many circumstances when a fisherman catches a fish and needs to safely remove a hook from the fish without causing harm to the fish. One circumstance is when a fish is caught and is too immature and/or small to keep. In most of these cases, fisherman are required by law to return the fish to the water. Another circumstance is when fisherman fish using the practice of “catch and release,” wherein fish are only caught for the sport of catching the fish and the fisherman has no intention of keeping the fish. An additional circumstance is when a fisherman catches an undesirable fish or other aquatic life that is un-edible and/or dangerous to handle.
In any of these cases, the fisherman must be careful not to injure himself/herself and/or the fish while removing the fishing hook from the fish.
Often a fish hook is removed or dehooked from a fish with pliers. This method requires the fish to be lifted out of the water and held while the pliers are used to pry the hook out of the fish's mouth. This method puts extra stress on the fish and often tears more tissue than necessary to remove the hook. In addition, this method requires that the fisherman touch the fish which could harm the fish's scales and/or fins to such an extent that the fish will not survive after being returned to the water.
Current dehooking devices available to anglers are hand-held devices that require the fisherman to bring the fish onto shore and/or onto a boat to remove the hook. These hand-held devices also require the fisherman to relinquish control of the fishing pole and/or for a second person to be present to assist in the removal of the hook. All of these factors contribute to a higher probability of the fisherman and/or the fish being unnecessarily injured during the hook removal process.
Therefore, the need exists for a dehooking device that is mounted in a fixed location, thereby making the dehooking device hands free.
The relevant prior art includes the following references:
Pat. No.InventorIssue/Publication Date(U.S. Patent References)2,348,662StevensMay 9, 19443,019,547FeltsFeb. 6, 19624,914,853SwindleApr. 10, 19905,274,948Harrison et al.Jan. 4, 19946,453,601DuncanSep. 24, 20026,694,664KnightFeb. 24, 20046,840,002DickJan. 11, 20052009/0229167DossSep. 17, 20096,138,401DuncanOct. 31, 20002010/0132243DickJun. 3, 20107,818,914Baiamonte et al.Oct. 26, 2010(Foreign Patent References)DE10103628N/AAug. 1, 2002JP2005143416N/AJun. 9, 2005JP2009136268N/AJun. 25, 2009